


levels of cognitive functioning

by Izzyface



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU - No Island, F/M, Kidfic, Recovery from Accident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 06:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13734720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzyface/pseuds/Izzyface
Summary: a sort-of response to Lexi's prompt: "oliver has finally woken up after a five year coma due to an attempted murder leaving him nearly dead. felicity, his girlfriend from before, has no idea how to break it to him that he has twin four year old daughters that she didn't know she was pregnant with when he was attacked"I took some liberties... you'll see.





	levels of cognitive functioning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlexiaBlackbriar13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/gifts).



> first of all, thanks to MISSYriver, who took the rusty mess i gave her and turned it into something readable (honestly guys, my muse went missing for 6 months - but without Missy, there's no way you would have gotten a story today). 
> 
> second, i used this [website as my source...](http://www.msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/Understanding-TBI/What-Happens-During-Injury-And-In-Early-Stages-Of-Recovery) because i'm not a neurologist. or a doctor, in general. 
> 
> third, i'm planning on this being 3 parts total. if this work week is anything like last work week i'll update next Sunday/Monday. but maybe not. *crosses fingers*

* * *

 

The total weight of the brain is less than four pounds. It is extremely delicate, soft tissue floating within fluid in your skull, covered by three layers of membrane for protection. Brain tissue is soft, so it can be pulled, squeezed, and stretched. When there is rapid speeding up and slowing down, as would happen when a car slams into a motorcycle at 75 miles per hour, the brain moves around quite violently inside the skull, causing traumatic injuries.

\---

Five years ago Oliver Queen fell into a coma.

Earlier that night, he’d had been on a date with Felicity Smoak— enjoying an early dinner, seeing _As You Like It_ at the local community theatre. They’d driven back to her place in her car, Oliver would have spent the night, but he had a early morning personal training session. He took his time kissing her goodbye against her door. He promised to call her in time for lunch the next day and climbed on his motorcycle.

Seven miles from her apartment, Oliver was struck by a drunk driver who fled the scene. According to the police report he was found by a good samaritan. The unknown man called 911, and stayed with Oliver until the ambulance arrived.  Paramedics reported Oliver was unresponsive and seizing off and on for close to twenty minutes.

Felicity learned about the accident by a phone call from his sister, Thea. By the time she arrived at the hospital, a MRI had revealed severe swelling to his brain. Oliver suffered from a collapsed lung, a crushed right leg, hip and a broken jaw.  Oliver underwent five separate surgeries to repair his damaged body.

After three weeks in a medically induced coma the swelling on Oliver’s brain had gone down and the doctors attempted to pull him out without success. His body was healing but Oliver’s mind still need time. So his family—Moira, Walter, and Thea—were told to be patient. His mother, stepfather, and sister slowly slipped back into their daily lives, made a little emptier without Oliver there to provide his silent encouragement or a warm smile.

Two months after the accident Felicity realized her body was trying to tell her something. She must have picked up some kind of virus the last time she visited Oliver at the hospital. Even _looking_ at food made her want to vomit, and then there was the _smell…_ It got so bad that her horrible supervisor Ed Raymond told her to go home and not to come back until she was no longer infecting his work space.

By the end of her third day away from QC, Felicity showed no improvement and she was certain she had the flu. She was exhausted, unable to keep food down and felt awful.  She had been taking care of herself most of her life, and until Oliver came along she thought she didn’t need anyone. He always knew what to do to make her feel better. Being sick and miserable without Oliver made everything worse. It made her miss Oliver even more and being ill meant she couldn’t go visit him after work.

On day four she was woken up by insistent knocking. Felicity pushed her glasses up. Her TV screen was asking if she was still watching Netflix. She’d fallen asleep during _Doctor Who_. The knocking continued.

“One minute!” Felicity called. She pushed herself up and moved slowly towards the door. Her body ached and her stomach rolled.

Felicity was  surprised to find Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother, on the other side of the door. The older woman was immaculately dressed and holding a Walgreen’s bag.

“Uh, hi?” Felicity said.

“Walter tells me you’ve been out of work for almost a week now.” Her eyes run over Felicity’s pale face. Moira took in Felicity’s limp ponytail, unmade face, an old t-shirt of Olivers and lose fitting sweats. “You also haven’t been by to see Oliver either.”

“I think I have the flu.”

Moira looked past Felicity into her apartment. “Can I come in?”

Felicity stepped to the side. “Sure.” She was cataloguing the mess that was her apartment. There were dirty dishes and clothes everywhere. She’d been sleeping on the sofa. And in the moments when she felt human, she would work on her computers. “Sorry about my place. I haven’t really felt like… Just, sorry.”

The Queen matriarch didn’t sit. “I brought you some things.” She held out the plastic bag to Felicity. “Soup, water.”

“You didn’t have to do that, I haven't been able to keep anything down and I can still order out.” Felicity took the bag. “I’m not so crazy with sickness to actually attempt cooking.” She looked down in the bag and then back up. “Why is there a pregnancy test in here?”

“About five years ago, Oliver got a girl pregnant. Did he ever tell you?”

Felicity searched through her memory of their conversations, but there was nothing she could recall. “No.”

“Her name was Samantha.” Moira moved towards the overstuffed chair and perched on the edge. “Oliver and Laurel were... “ Moira made a hand motion. “You know their history. Anyway, I don’t know if the thing with Samantha was one time or ongoing. But she got pregnant. A week after Oliver found out, Samantha miscarried. Oliver stayed at the hospital so he could check on her. He was devastated.” The older woman looked at Felicity. “It also made him understand that he would never want that with Laurel, so he ended their relationship.”

“I never knew.” Felicity looked back down at the pregnancy test Moira had brought her. “You think that I’m…?”

“I know you care about my son very much, Felicity. And that he cares about you too.” Moira gave her a kind smile. “He was leaving this apartment the night of his accident. It’s been two months, and maybe you do have the flu. If you do, then I’ll send Raisa over to cook for you and clean this place up.”

“If it’s not the flu?” Felicity questioned.

Moira gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll send Raisa over to cook for you and clean this place up.”

\---

Oliver woke up from his coma on a Monday. Felicity was at work when Thea called crying. Twenty minutes later, Walter stuck his head into her office and offered to drive her to the hospital. She declined. Felicity was sure the older man would’ve pressed as to why, but his phone rang and judging from what she could hear it was Moira.

When she was alone again, Felicity closed her office door and turned her phone to Do Not Disturb.

He was awake.

It was both the happiest and most terrifying news she’d ever faced.

Of course she was happy—Oliver was… Oliver. He’d meant a lot to her for a long time, long before they decided to start a relationship. But now? Her children would _finally_ get to meet their father. They’d get to talk with him and love him. If everything went the way she hoped, she’d no longer have to be both the mom _and_ the dad.

Except, of course, there was the fact that Oliver didn’t _know_ about them. They’d only been intimate a few weeks before his accident, and they’d been depending solely on condoms for birth control. Condoms that the FDA issued a recall notice because the latex wasn’t as strong as it should’ve been a week after Felicity found out she was pregnant.

So while Felicity was thrilled that Oliver was awake, it was complicated. If it was only her, she would have left with Walter without a thought. But she was Liam and Livvie’s mom, and she had to be careful.

She sat at her desk staring out the window until it was time to get the twins from preschool. Since firewall security and coding was her sole responsibility, Walter allowed her to work remotely from home most of the week, and she was only required to come into the office a few hours a day while the children were in school. It was a position that existed previously, but they’d allowed her to tailor it to her needs as the twins grew up. With them being enrolled in a preschool program, instead of daycare, Felicity had changed her hours recently.

Felicity and the kids lived in the carriage house at Queen Mansion, a concession made because of security. Felicity wasn’t certain how many people knew Liam and Livvie were Oliver’s. After his motorcycle crash there had been a number of magazine and newspaper articles speculating on his relationship with Felicity. One evening while Felicity was pregnant she returned from the hospital to find a photographer had broken into her apartment and was rifling through her papers. Moira had insisted and Felicity agreed it was time for a move.

The carriage house offered them privacy and security, plus Moira, Walter, and Thea could see the twins anytime they wanted.

After she’d fed them dinner Felicity brought up visiting the hospital with the twins. “Do you remember that Aunt Thea’s brother has been sleeping for a long time?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“He woke up today.” This didn’t cause any reaction from either child. “Mommy wants to go see him.”

“Okay.” Livvie looked up and smiled. “Can we go too?”

“Of course.” Felicity reached out and stopped their hands that’d been busy with Lego’s. “Liam, Livvie… Aunt Thea’s brother, he’s your daddy.”

The two children looked at each other, and then back at their mother. “We know, Mommy.”

“You know?”

“Aunt Thea told us,” Liam answered.

“When?” their mother questioned.

“When we asked about our daddy.” He reached for his Lego’s again. “She told us not to tell you, that it would make you sad.”

“Oh.” Felicity felt shame wash over her. She’d made the decision after Oliver had been in the coma for over two years. The doctors couldn’t give them an answer as to when he’d wake up, or if he would ever wake up. At the time she’d been heartbroken, frustrated and angry because of the situation. The twins weren’t old enough to understand they didn’t have a father, but she knew they’d realize sooner or later. Moira and Thea had fought her choice, but they did eventually give in. Or so she thought. “Do you have any questions?”

The twins both nodded their heads. “Will he know us?” Livvie asked.

Felicity brushed a hand over her daughter hair. “Probably not, honey. Oliver never got a chance to meet you before he went to sleep.”

“Oh.” Livvie pouted.

Liam pressed his face into his mother’s stomach. “Will he play soccer with me? Josh’s daddy plays with him.”

“I’m sure he will.” Felicity pressed her hand to the back of his blond head. “Let’s go wash up little Monkeys, so we can go.” She walked them into their bathroom, Felicity quickly washed their faces, arms, and instructed them to brush their teeth. They changed out  their school uniforms into jeans and clean shirts. Once they were sorted, she went to take care of herself.

Oliver had been moved out of the Long Term Care unit and back into the ICU as a precaution. Generally, only family was allowed as a visitor, but Moira had long ago made sure that Felicity was on the approved visitor at Starling General. The doctors and nurses treated her as another member of the Queen family.

The problem was the twins. Visitors under 12 were forbidden in the ICU. The charge nurse was not willing to bend the rules, and Felicity refused to leave the twins in the waiting area alone. One of the other nurses had overheard and alerted Mrs. Queen in Oliver’s hospital room. Moira immediately stepped out to make a phone call and then walked over to speak with Felicity.

A minute later the desk phone rang. The hospital Chairman greeted the charge nurse. Soon after, Felicity and the twins were given passes. While she usually looked down at Moira’s high-handed tactics, Felicity was grateful the woman interfered this time.

Oliver was sitting up in bed, propped up on a mound of pillows. There was an IV in his left hand, and it was clear he hadn’t seen sunlight in more than five years. After years of visiting, Felicity knew he’d lost muscle mass and weight. He was no longer the man he was prior, but she knew he could be that man again. If only… She bit her lip, waiting to see if he would recognize her. No one had contacted her to today indicating any lingering cognitive effects, so she was hopeful.

When his eyes met hers, Oliver smiled. “Felicity,” he sighed.

“Hi, Oliver.”

His happiness turned to confusion when he noticed the small hands clinging to hers. Liam had turned his face into her hip. But Livvie stood strong, facing him head on. “They yours?”

She nodded. Felicity looked at Moira and Walter. “Can we have a moment?”

Oliver and Felicity watched as the older couple leave quietly. Moira squeezed Felicity’s shoulder as she passed. Once the door closed, she turned back to look at the other adult in the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Felicity.”

She felt tears overwhelm her, and suddenly it was all too much. He was awake after more than five years. Felicity wanted to rush to his bed and throw her arms around him. She was so happy, but so scared her hands were shaking. “Yes, they’re mine.”

He nodded and looked away. There was so much to say, but nothing at all that was appropriate for little ears…

“This is Olivia Jane Smoak. I was in labor twelve hours and thirty-four minutes, and she came out with a healthy set of lungs. She was five and half pounds.

“This is William Robert Smoak. Twelve hours and forty-six minutes with him. He was just over five pounds and bald.”

Oliver was quiet as he processed what she told him. Olivia… Oliver. Robert, like his father… was she saying?... Could it be? “How old are they?”

“I call them Liam and Livvie. Their birthday is April eighth. They just turned four.” Felicity slowly walked to his side and pressed her fingers to his forearm, careful of his IV. “Look at me.”

He did. He couldn’t _not_ look at her. If they were four, that meant… But it was… “They’re mine?”

Felicity nodded. “Of course they are, Oliver.” She smiled at his smile. “Of course they are.”


End file.
